Duplicating apparatus

ABSTRACT

Duplicating apparatus utilizing the hectograph process for transferring printed material from a master card to a work piece in which initial feed of the work piece initiates operation of the master card feed mechanism. The feed of the work piece is guided by spring biased nip rolls to insure proper positioning of the work piece when presented to the master card and adjusting means are provided in the master card feed to permit adjustment of the operation of the moistening roll and master card feed relative to the longitudinal position of the work piece thereby permitting accurate control of the position on the work piece at which the material printed on the master card will be duplicated.

atent 1 tates Petersen DUPUCATHNG APPARATUS [75] Inventor: Eric Rikard Petersen, Broomall, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Scriptomatic, Inc., Philadelphia,

[22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 345,105

[ 1 Ap1n30, 1974 [57] TRACT Duplicating apparatus utilizing the hectograph process for transferring printed material from a master card to a work piece in which initial feed of the work piece initiates operation of the master card feed mechanism. The feed of the work piece is guided by spring biased nip rolls to insure proper positioning of the work piece when presented to the master card and adjusting means are provided in the master card feed to permit adjustment of the operation of the moistening roll and master card feed relative to the longitudinal position of the work piece thereby permitting accurate control of the 'position on the work piece at which the material printed on the master card will be duplicated.

10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures DUPLICATING APPARATUS This invention relates'to new and useful improvements in duplicating machines in which the hectograph process is utilized for duplicating printed material such as names and addresses from master cards to a work piece such as an envelope.

In the hectograph process, transfer of printed material is accomplished by moistening the desired transfer area of the work piece with a solvent and bringing the imprint area of the master card into pressure applying relation with the moistened surface of the work piece. In applying this process, for example, to the reproduction of addresses on envelopes it is desirable to accurately position the address both vertically and longitudinally of the envelope and to permit some degree of adjustability in the positioning of the address on the envelope. Thus, means must be provided to accurately guide the envelope to the printing position and Prevent skewing of the envelope when one side is thicker than the other. Also, means must be provided to control the time of actuation of the moistening roll and master card feed relative to the envelope.

With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel duplicating machine of simplified construction which will permit the desired accurate feed of a work piece and adjustment of the position of transfer of printed matter from a master card to the work piece.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a duplicating machine of the type described in which various attachments and additional features can be added to a basic machine to provide a complete line of machines without having to change the component elements of the basic machine.

A further object of the present invention is to provide novel guide means for work pieces entering a duplicating machine which will feed the work pieces along a predetermined path and not allow variation from the proper feed path regardless of irregularities in the material being fed through the machine.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel duplicating machine of the type set forth including novel adjusting means to vary the operation of the moistening roll and master card feed relative to the feed of a work piece. and use.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel duplicating machine having the features and characteristics set forth above which is of relatively simplified construction, may be manufactured easily and cheaply and is highly efficient and effective in operation These and other objects of the present invention and the various features and details of the operation and construction thereof are hereinafter more fully set forth and described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevational view of a duplicating machine constructed in accordance with the present invention with the drive gearing, which is located in front of the plane of the section, being shown in dot and dash lines;

FIG. 2 is a detail view illustrating a solenoid trip device associated with a single revolution clutch employed in the machine;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 1 with the base plate structure of the master card carrier broken out so as not to hide other parts and with the location of the stack of master cards indicated diagrammatically in dot and dash lines;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged face view, looking toward the left in FIG. 5, of a cam adjusting mechanism employed in the machine;

FIG. 5 is a cross section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; 9

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a nip roll unit of the machine;

FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6 partly in section to illustrate the spring biasing arrangement of the nip roll unit;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a cam actuated moistening cradle of the machine; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the duplicating machine of the present invention comprises in general a frame structure including side plates 20 and 21, a deck plate 22, a readily detachable table 23 for supporting work pieces W, for example, envelopes; a feed roll station F; a solvent applying station S; a card carrier 24 for a stack of master cards C, shown in full lines in FIG. 1 and indicated in dot and dash lines in FIG. 3; a printing or transfer station P; a collection tray 25 for the master cards; and a collecting table 26 for the printed work piece.

The card carrier 24 for the master card C comprises an angularly disposed, suitably supported, base plate 27 which supports the cards between the side plates 20 and 21. A forwardly inclined retaining plate 28 positions and supports the leading edge of the master cards C with the retaining plate 28 carrying at its lower end a stripper member 29 which permits the feed of a single card from the card carrier.

The work pieces or envelopes W are fed into the machine by hand by placing the work piece lengthwise on the table 23 and by guiding it against the side guide member 30 (FIG. 3) which is adjustably carried by the table 23 for adjustment transversely of the table to permit transverse adjustment of the position of the imprint on the work piece. If desired, an automatic feeder (not shown) may be attached to the machine in place of the table 23.

In the operation of the machine a stack of master cards C is placed in the card carrier 24 with the printed area face down and a work piece W is placed on the table 23 and fed to the feed roll station F.

The machine, in this instance, is driven by a hand crank 31 (FIG. 3) secured on the main drive shaft 32 of the machine. It is also contemplated to drive the machine by means of a motor in which case the motor would be drivingly. connected to the drive shaft 32.

Drive of the various components of the machine is by means of a system of gearing. As diagrammatically shown in FIG. 1, it will be seen that a gear 33 secured on the drive shaft 32 meshes with the smaller gear 34 of a compound gear. The larger gear 35 of the compound gear meshes with a gear 36 secured on the shaft 37 of the driven roll 38 of the solvent applying station S. Another gear 36 on the shaft 37 meshes with an intermediate gear 39, in turn meshing with a gear 40 secured on the shaft 41 of the driven roll 42 of the feed roll station F.

The intermediate gear 39 meshes with a gear 43 which in turn meshes with a gear 44 meshing with a gear 45 secured on the shaft 47 of a single revolution clutch device 48.

This device 48 is tripped by means of trip member 49 actuated by an associated solenoid 50 (FIG. 2). The solenoid 50 is energized by means of a switch 51 associated with the driven roll 42 of the feed roll station F, it being noted that the trigger arm 52 of the switch 51 operates in an annular groove 53 of the driven roll 42, thus enabling the trigger arm to be depressed into the groove as a work piece W is fed through the machine.

When the work piece W actuates the switch arm the switch is closed and the solenoid 50 is energized to trip the single revolution clutch permitting a single revolution of the shaft 47.

A gear 54 meshes with the gear 35 and is secured to the shaft 55 which carries the driven roll 56 of the print roll station P.

The direction of rotation of the various gears above described is indicated by arrows in FIG. 1 from which -it will be seen that the feed roll 42, the solvent station roll 38 and the roll 56 of the printing station P all rotate in a clockwise direction.

In accordance with the present invention, a nip roll unit 57 is provided associated with both the roll 42 of the feed roll station F and the roll 38 of the solvent applying station S. This nip roll unit is designed to direct the work piece fed into the machine along a straight predetermined path through the feed roll and solvent roll stations and toward the printing station. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the nip roll unit comprises a central cross frame member 58 terminating at its opposite ends in supporting leg portions 59, 59 which extend both forwardly and rearwardly from the member 58 in the direction of travel of the work piece. Each of the legs 59 are relatively wide and flat to provide rigidity against sideward movement but permit vertical flexing of the ends of the legs.

Individually carried by the ends of the legs 59 of the nip roll unit 57 are rearward and forward pairs of nip rolls 60 and 61', respectively, adapted to be held into pressure applying relation with the feed station roll 42 and the solvent station roll 38, respectively. To accomplish this a spring 62 is provided located in a central annular pocket 63 of the cross frame member 58 and reacting against a fixed abutment 64 of the card carrier 24 (FIGS. 1 and 7). The entire nip roll unit 57 is mounted for vertical displacement by means of vertical grooves 67, 67 at the sides of the cross frame member 58 which engage over vertical ribs 68, 68 provided on fixed brackets 69, 69 of the card carrier 24.

With this construction, individual nip rolls 60 and 61 may move vertically over thickened or uneven portions of the work piece without disturbing the longitudinal alignment of the nip roll unit 57 thereby insuring a positive straight line feed of each work piece.

The solvent applying station S includes the roll 38 above mentioned, and an associated moistening cradle 75 shown in detail in FIGS. 8 and 9 and comprising a main bent arm member 76 pivotally mounted at 77 on brackets 78 of the card carrier 24, a solvent applying roller 79 rotatably mounted between the wings 80 of the arm member, a wick member 81, and an extending arm 82 fixedly secured at 83 to the main arm member 76. The arm 82 carries a cam follower 84 at its free end adapted to be spring urged into contact with a cam 85 by means of a biasing spring 86 (FIG. 9).

The cam is associated with the single revolution clutch 48 above mentioned, and is provided with an eccentric pin 87, which as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, is connected by means of a link 88 to the master card stripper or pusher plate 89 which is provided with a shallow shoulder 90 adapted to engage the trailing edge of a master card C to be dispensed from the bottom of the stack upon forward movement of the stripper plate.

Solvent is fed to the wick 81 from a suitably located solvent tank 91 as by way of a feed tube 92 (FIG. 3).

The dispensed master card C is fed into the nip of the pressure roll and printing roll 56 and the card is forced into pressure-applying relation with an advancing work piece by means of a spring urged pivoted bracket 102 to accomplish print transfer from the master card to the work piece W. It will be observed that the recessed imprint area of the master card is indicated in dot and dash lines at 93 in FIG. 3. It is desirable that the width or axial extent of the pressure roll 100 be slightly less than the width of the recessed imprint area 93 of the master card C to permit uniform transfer of printed material to the work piece with a minimum pressure.

As the master card continues in its travel, it is guided by laterally spaced arcuate strips 103 and finally engages a pair of spaced discharge rolls 104 for delivery into the collecting tray 25 as indicated by the arrow 105 in FIG. 1.

The printing roll 56 is driven in a clockwise direction by means of a gear 54 meshing with the aforementioned gear 35 and the pressure roll 100 is driven by engagement with the printing roll. The discharge rolls 104 are driven from the pressure roll 100 by a belt drive 107.

The work piece W leaves the printing station P as indicated by the arrow 108 in FIG. 1 and discharges onto the table 26.

Reverting now to the cam 85 and with particular reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, it is important that this cam 85 be adjustable about the axis of the single revolution shaft 47 to permit adjustment of the operation of the moistening roll and feed of the master card relative to the feed of the work piece. This allows variation of the imprint position on the work piece.

In accordance with the present invention, the cam assembly 85 includes a body member 110 fixed on the shaft 47 and an adjustable cam member 111 rotatably mounted on the body member 110. Adjustment is accomplished by means of a bevel gear 112 rotatably mounted in the body member 110 by a shaft 113 and a mating bevel gear segment 1 114 provided on the internal face of the cam member. The shaft 113 is provided with a handle 113a for turning the bevel gear 112 to -make adjustments.

As seen in FIG. 4, the body member is provided with an indent knob 116 adapted to be engaged by the indents 117, 118 of the cam member as adjustments are made. Also a stop groove 119 is provided in the cam member adapted to engage the stop lug 120 of the body member to limit rotational movement of the cam member in either direction. By rotating the handle 113a from the position shown in FIG. 4 the outer adjustable cam member 1 l 1 is retracted or moved in the counterclockwise direction relative to the shaft 47 from the position as shown in FIG. 4 thereby delaying the feed of the master card and operation of the moistening roll relative to the feed of the work piece and changing the imprint position on the work piece.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides a novel duplicating machine of relatively simple construction in which accurate control and direction is provided to the work piece during travel through the machine to accurately index the work piece with the master card and wherein the position of the imprint from the master card to the work piece may be controlled and adjusted. Further, the present invention provides a novel duplicating machine which permits transfer of printed material from the imprint area of a master card with a minimum of pressure and wear on the card.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein it is not intended to limit the invention to such a disclosure and changes and modifications may be incorporated therein within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A duplicating machine for duplicating printed material from a predetermined imprint area of a master card to a work piece, comprising: means providing sequentially of the machine a feed station for feeding work pieces, a solvent applying station for selectively applying solvent to the work pieces, and a printing station for transferring printed material from the master card to the work pieces; common drive means for said feed, solvent applying and printing stations; a pair of oppositely disposed side plates spanning the feed, solvent applying and printing stations, a master card carrier extending between said side plates intermediate said solvent applying and said printing stations; a movable stripper plate at the base of said card carrier operable when actuated to strip one card at a time from the cards in said card carrier and feed the same into engagement with a work piece at said printing station; work piece guide means spanning between said feed station and said solvent applying station to guide movement of said work pieces along a predetermined path through said feed and said solvent applying stations and toward said printing station; a moistening roll positioned above said predetermined path at said solvent applying station operable upon engagement with a work piece passing through said solvent applying station to apply solvent to a selected portion of said work piece, means movably mounting said moistening roll for movement toward and away from a work piece moving along said predetermined path, said moistening roll operable to engage a work piece moving along said predetermined path upon movement thereof toward said predetermined path; a driven feed and moistening shaft extending transversely of said machine between said side plates, a single revolution clutch drivably connecting said driven shaft and said common drive means; switch means at said feeding station to actuate said single revolution clutch upon feed of a work piece to said feed station and cause a single revolution of said driven shaft; drive mechanism rotatable with said driven shaft; means interconnecting said drive mechanism with both said stripper plate and said moistening roll; said drive mechanism operable upon rotation of said driven shaft to actuate said stripper plate to feed a master card toward said printing station and simultaneously therewith move said moistening roll toward the path of travel of said work piece to apply solvent to a selected portion of said work piece; and adjusting means adjustably interconnecting said drive mechanism and said driven shaft to adjust the position of said drive mechanism relative to said driven shaft and simultaneously vary the actuation of said stripper plate and moistening roll relative to the travel of a work piece through said machine.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which each of said feed, solvent applying and printing stations includes a driven roll, means drivably connecting each of said driven rolls with said common drive means to cause rotation of each of said driven rolls in the same direction, and wherein said guide means includes a movable cradle assembly mounting forward and rearward pairs of nip rolls, said forward pair of nip rolls in engagement with said driven roll at said solvent applying station and said rearward pair of nip rolls in engagement with said driven roll at said feed station.

35. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which spring means is provided normally urging said cradle assembly in a direction to resiliently force said pairs of nip rolls into engagement with their associated driven rolls, and wherein each roll of each pair of nip rolls is independently mounted on resilient arms extending from said cradle.

41. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 including quide members in engagement with said cradle assembly to guide movement of said cradle assembly.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which said adjusting means includes an inner member fixed to said driven shaft and an outer member surrounding said inner member, means to adjust the position of said outer member in a direction circumferentially of said inner member, and the means interconnecting said drive means with said stripper plate and said moistening roll being connected to said outer member.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said outer member is mounted for movement relative to said inner member between opposite limit positions, and an adjusting element is provided interconnecting said inner and outer members to move said outer member to either of said opposite limit positions.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 including resilient detent means to resiliently maintain said outer member in its adjusted limit position.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said outer member has a cam surface formed on its periphery, and a cam follower is provided in engagement with said cam surface and interconnected with said means mounting said moistening roll to cause said movement of said moistening roll.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 in which the means mounting said moistening roll includes a bracket pivoted at one end and carrying the moistening roll at its opposite end, said cam follower being fixed to said bracket, and said bracket supporting a solvent moistened wick in permanent engagement with said moistening roll.

Ml). Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 including a pressure applying roll at said printing station in engagement with said printing station driven roll, said pressure applying roll having a pressure applying surface thereon of lesser axial extent than the width of said master card imprint area. 

1. A duplicating machine for duplicating printed material from a predetermined imprint area of a master card to a work piece, comprising: means providing sequentially of the machine a feed station for feeding work pieces, a solvent applying station for selectively applying solvent to the work pieces, and a printing station for transferring printed material from the master card to the work pieces; common drive means for said feed, Solvent applying and printing stations; a pair of oppositely disposed side plates spanning the feed, solvent applying and printing stations, a master card carrier extending between said side plates intermediate said solvent applying and said printing stations; a movable stripper plate at the base of said card carrier operable when actuated to strip one card at a time from the cards in said card carrier and feed the same into engagement with a work piece at said printing station; work piece guide means spanning between said feed station and said solvent applying station to guide movement of said work pieces along a predetermined path through said feed and said solvent applying stations and toward said printing station; a moistening roll positioned above said predetermined path at said solvent applying station operable upon engagement with a work piece passing through said solvent applying station to apply solvent to a selected portion of said work piece, means movably mounting said moistening roll for movement toward and away from a work piece moving along said predetermined path, said moistening roll operable to engage a work piece moving along said predetermined path upon movement thereof toward said predetermined path; a driven feed and moistening shaft extending transversely of said machine between said side plates, a single revolution clutch drivably connecting said driven shaft and said common drive means; switch means at said feeding station to actuate said single revolution clutch upon feed of a work piece to said feed station and cause a single revolution of said driven shaft; drive mechanism rotatable with said driven shaft; means interconnecting said drive mechanism with both said stripper plate and said moistening roll; said drive mechanism operable upon rotation of said driven shaft to actuate said stripper plate to feed a master card toward said printing station and simultaneously therewith move said moistening roll toward the path of travel of said work piece to apply solvent to a selected portion of said work piece; and adjusting means adjustably interconnecting said drive mechanism and said driven shaft to adjust the position of said drive mechanism relative to said driven shaft and simultaneously vary the actuation of said stripper plate and moistening roll relative to the travel of a work piece through said machine.
 2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which each of said feed, solvent applying and printing stations includes a driven roll, means drivably connecting each of said driven rolls with said common drive means to cause rotation of each of said driven rolls in the same direction, and wherein said guide means includes a movable cradle assembly mounting forward and rearward pairs of nip rolls, said forward pair of nip rolls in engagement with said driven roll at said solvent applying station and said rearward pair of nip rolls in engagement with said driven roll at said feed station.
 3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which spring means is provided normally urging said cradle assembly in a direction to resiliently force said pairs of nip rolls into engagement with their associated driven rolls, and wherein each roll of each pair of nip rolls is independently mounted on resilient arms extending from said cradle.
 4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 including quide members in engagement with said cradle assembly to guide movement of said cradle assembly.
 5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which said adjusting means includes an inner member fixed to said driven shaft and an outer member surrounding said inner member, means to adjust the position of said outer member in a direction circumferentially of said inner member, and the means interconnecting said drive means with said stripper plate and said moistening roll being connected to said outer member.
 6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said outer member is mounted for movement relative to said inner member between opposite limit positions, and an adjusting eLement is provided interconnecting said inner and outer members to move said outer member to either of said opposite limit positions.
 7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 including resilient detent means to resiliently maintain said outer member in its adjusted limit position.
 8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said outer member has a cam surface formed on its periphery, and a cam follower is provided in engagement with said cam surface and interconnected with said means mounting said moistening roll to cause said movement of said moistening roll.
 9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 in which the means mounting said moistening roll includes a bracket pivoted at one end and carrying the moistening roll at its opposite end, said cam follower being fixed to said bracket, and said bracket supporting a solvent moistened wick in permanent engagement with said moistening roll.
 10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 including a pressure applying roll at said printing station in engagement with said printing station driven roll, said pressure applying roll having a pressure applying surface thereon of lesser axial extent than the width of said master card imprint area. 